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Cleopatra/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim and Moby are watching Cleopatra (1963) on television. Mark Antony looks at Cleopatra and speaks. ANTONY: Why are you not dead? Why do you live? How do you live? Why do you not lie at the deepest hole of the sea? TIM: Wow, this movie is not good. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, I keep hearing the name "Cleopatra" a lot. Who was Cleopatra and why was she such a big deal? Sincerely, Alta. Hey, that's a good question. The answer is kind of a long story, though. TIM: Cleopatra was the queen of Egypt from about 51 B.C.E to about 30 B.C.E. She was the last Egyptian ruler to hold the title of pharaoh. An image shows Tim's friend Rita dressed as Cleopatra. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Nope, she wasn't related to the ancient pharaohs, those guys lived hundreds of years earlier. An image shows an ancient pharaoh observing the building of a pyramid. TIM: She was a member of a royal dynasty called the Ptolemies. An image shows Cleopatra. TIM: The Ptolemies weren't Egyptian, they were Greek. But they took over and ruled Egypt for three hundred years starting in 305 B.C.E. A map shows Egypt and Greece. TIM: Cleopatra was the last of that royal line. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, Cleopatra lived during a time of change. An image shows a Greek statue and columns. TIM: Hellenistic civilization, a version of Greek culture spread by Alexander the Great, had been the dominant force in the region for hundreds of years. But when Cleopatra was born, Hellenism was in decline. An image shows the same statue and a column broken, and another column covered with large cracks. TIM: Rome was rapidly gaining power and territory. An map shows Rome adding territories to its empire and spreading across the region. Rome even gains parts of Greece. TIM: Cleopatra inherited the throne of Egypt when she was 18 years old. But she had to share it with her 12-year-old brother. An image shows Cleopatra and her younger brother sitting on their thrones. TIM: The two didn't get along, and a group of her brother's friends kicked Cleopatra out of power. An animation shows Cleopatra being removed from her throne. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, remember how I said that Rome was expanding? An animation shows Rome's territories expanding on a map. TIM: A lot of that was due to the conquests of Julius Caesar, Rome's number-one general. Moby is dressed as Caesar and holds up a sword. TIM: In 48 B.C.E, Caesar arrived in Egypt and declared that he would settle the dispute between Cleopatra and her brother. An animation shows Caesar traveling from Rome to Egypt. TIM: Cleopatra used her, uh, charms to win him over to her side. When Caesar showed up at the royal palace, Cleopatra had a big carpet delivered to him. An image shows Caesar looking at the carpet. TIM: When he unrolled it, she was there inside. An image shows a love-struck Caesar looking at Cleopatra lying on the carpet. TIM: Caesar made Cleopatra the ruler of Egypt, and things went well for a few years. An animation shows Cleopatra replacing her brother on the throne as Caesar stands beside her. TIM: The two fell in love, and even had a son, named Caesarion. Their son joins them. He is shown as half man and half robot. CAESARION: Beep. An image shows Caesar waiving to the Roman Senate. TIM: Caesar went on to become dictator of Rome, but in 44 B.C.E, he was murdered by a group of Roman senators. An image shows the senators as robots raising their knives to stab Caesar. Then the screen turns red. TIM: After his death, Rome was run by Mark Antony, a powerful general, and Octavian, Caesar's adopted son. An image shows Tim as Antony and Tim's friend as Octavian. TIM: Desperate to hold onto power, Cleopatra asked Mark Antony for protection. MOBY: Beep. TIM: In 42 B.C.E, she sailed across the sea to meet him, but she didn't travel on any ordinary ship. It was filled with rose petals, and manned by maids dressed as sea nymphs. Cleopatra lay under a golden canopy, fanned by boys dressed as Cupid. An animation shows the ship as Tim describes. TIM: Mark Antony fell in love, and the two went back to Egypt together. An image shows Mark Antony's eyes turning into hearts and large red hearts floating around his head. TIM: A few years later, he and Cleopatra got married. An image shows Mark Antony, Cleopatra, and her son Caesarian. TIM: They had three children. An image shows the children joining the family. TIM: Antony decided to make Cleopatra's kids rulers of various Roman territories. An animation shows crowns dropping onto all of the children's heads. TIM: That didn't sit well with the folks back in Rome. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, they didn't like Antony giving away big chunks of their territory. Plus, Antony already had a wife back in Rome. An image shows Antony's other wife. TIM: Octavian's sister, actually. An image shows a perturbed looking Octavian next to his sister. TIM: So Octavian convinced the Roman Senate to declare war on Egypt. An image shows Octavian angrily speaking in front of the Roman Senate. TIM: A big showdown took place at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C.E. A map shows that the fighting took place midway between Octavian-ruled Rome and Antony-ruled Egypt. TIM: Octavian won, and Antony and Cleopatra fled back to Egypt. An image shows a triumphant Octavian watching as Antony's burning ship sails away. TIM: Pretty much all of Antony's remaining soldiers abandoned him, and he killed himself. Cleopatra killed herself too. According to legend, she allowed an asp, a kind of poisonous snake, to bite her. An image shows Antony killing himself with his sword and Cleopatra being bitten by an asp. TIM: Afterwards, Octavian conquered Egypt, changed his name to Augustus, and became the first Roman Emperor. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, Cleopatra wasn't just a pretty face, as Hollywood sometimes makes her out to be, she made a big mark on history. She was a savvy ruler and business woman for Egypt, and was one of its great leaders. An image of Hollywood's depiction of Cleopatra with Antony appears alongside Rita dressed as Cleopatra. TIM: Cleopatra was able to bring peace and prosperity to Egypt after it had gone through bankruptcy and civil war. An image shows the Great Pyramids in Egypt. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, for sure. Tim dials a phone. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Umm, I'm just calling Rita. To say hi. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts